This must be one of the most dynamic collective performances we have yet heard in jazz. Composed by Coltrane, its simple theme is constantly restated in the wild, contrapuntal passages used to separate the solo statements. The session was closely supervised by Coltrane and the 11-piece unit respond by producing a work that is vibrantly alive. The experiments in harmonically free group playing that Bobby Hutcherson conducted on Dialogue are further developed here. Coltrane questions the infallibility of logic and causality in jazz and in so doing, he returns to the deepest alchemy of the music, relegating formal organisation to a less significant position. The theme’s constant reappearance means that form is never totally jettisoned, but the leader’s prime object is the headlong emotional projections of the group. The result lies, in fact, somewhere between the anarchic freedom of Sun Ra and the controlled intensity that Mingus exploited in his tremendous Black Saint And The Sinner Lady.
The solos are a vital part of the unified whole and Coltrane, Hubbard and Shepp play superbly. Johnson is also good and solos in a more cohesive way than usual. The real surprise, however, is Tyner. His solo is wilder than any I have heard from him and is replete with many Cecil Taylor-like runs. Only Tchicai seems less happy and he forces his solo in an attempt to sustain what is a slightly alien climate. As a result, he surrenders his normal, haunting sound and resorts to rather common place phrasing. I cannot imagine better drumming in this context than that provided by Elvin Jones – a factor that adds the final seal of quality to an outstanding album. The otherwise instructive sleeve note erroneously suggests that this was a record debut for several of the men involved, although they could hardly have played with more enthusiasm had this been the case.
Discography
Ascension – Part 1 (18½ min) – Ascension – Part 2 (18½ min)
Freddie Hubbard, Dewey Johnson (tpts): John Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders. Archie Shepp (ten); Marion Brown, John Tchicai (alts); McCoy Tyner (p): Art Davis (bs); Elvin Jones (d). 28/6/65.
(H.M.V. CLP mono & CSD stereo 3543 32S)
